Marking Period 1 Project
"What are ya doin' there Avery?" Luffy, a young man at the age of nineteen, asked. His full name is Monkey D. Luffy. But his friends and shipmates just call him Luffy. And even though he is their captain he is also their equal.
With that being said Avery had no problem replying. "Nothing that concerns you Luffy." Her mismatched eyes stayed on the paper in her lap and her left hand, the one that held the quill, didn't hesitate in it's movements. After a few moments of silence her hand stilled and with her blue and green eyes she looked into his onyx ones. "What are you doing?" She inquired.
The dark haired captain was standing on the edge of the crows nest. One hand on his straw hat to keep it from blowing away while his other hand was pulled back as if he were going to throw a punch. "Waiting for Sanji." Was his answer. "If I bring him up here you can tell him." Luffy grinned wildly and looked back at her. "You tell him everything." Just then Sanji appeared and Avery knew that Luffy really would bring him up here because Luffy knew she had a soft spot for their blond cook. And at this moment Luffy was about to use his Devil's Fruit power to grab the flirtatious blond man and drag him up to the crows nest. The Devil's Fruit is just as the name implies, the fruit of the devil for it gives it's consumer powers of a devil. "Avery." Whined Luffy.
Avery was clutching onto Luffy's arm as if her life depended on it. She couldn't let Luffy bring Sanji up here for Sanji may find out about her little crush on him. And also because she feared that her life might really depend on holding onto Luffy's arm. At this moment her feet were several inches off of the ground but moments before she had been dangling over the side of the crows nest in the open air. Trying to shake her off was impossible as Luffy soon found out. "Leave Sanji Alone." Avery ordered her captain and close friend. "I'll show you what I was working on but you can not tell anyone. Got it Luffy? Not a single person." The unmistakable grin was back gracing Luffy's joyous face. Letting go of his arm Avery landed on the wooden floor of the crows nest on both feet with a soft sound she began to fix her light gray shirt. It didn't need to be fixed but Avery was trying to waist time for a few minutes. Her hope was that Luffy might get bored and leave.
"Come on Avery!" His voice was slightly pitchy as he spoke his complaint. With a dejected sigh she sat down once more and this time she leaned on the cool wood enclosing the crows nest. Then she grabbed her pile of papers and went through them. It took her a moment to find a good one and she took it out. "Whoa!" Exclaimed Luffy. "It's good! I didn't know you could draw." Avery slumped forward at his praise and looked down. Her hands picked at a loose thread on her pants that she had suddenly found quite interesting. Her cheeks were burning with a blush of embarrassment. Luffy was one of the only person on this ship to know about her ability to draw.
She kept this talent of hers hidden because she knew that Usopp was proud thinking that he was the best drawer on the ship. She liked Usopp as a friend so she didn't want to burst his bubble. The only other person besides herself, and now Luffy, that knew she could draw was her friend Zoro. And that was only because they were paired up for night watch a lot. Zoro was a great swordsman that was striving to be the greatest in the world and Avery didn't doubt that one day he would reach that goal. Avery was jarred from her own thoughts and personal embarrassment by Luffy poking her. "Can I see the one you were working on though?" He requested.
It took Avery a moment to realize what he was talking about. The picture she had handed him was one she had finished of Zoro several nights ago. And somehow her idiot of a captain, because Luffy was indeed an idiot, knew that this wasn't the one she was working on. "I don't know what you're talking about." Avery spat trying to hide her embarrassment with false anger. She jutted out her chin she crossed her arms and legs.
"I'm talking about the one of Sanji you're working on." Was his reply. He said it so smoothly it sounded almost as if it was only obvious. She paled and didn't make eye contact with him. He waited patiently, that was so unlike him. And with the silence Avery soon broke down and gave him the picture. Luffy started to talk about how good he thought it was and Avery replied with sarcastic comments to every claim. "Why don't you like it?" Luffy finally asked.
"His hair is wrong, it doesn't seem to fit with how his eyes are drawn. But if I drew the eyes any other way it wouldn't work with his grin and the hair doesn't seem to work with the grin any other way than it is now. Then there's how his clothes seem too rigid with the pose he's making and if I make them seem more relaxed looking the pose just seems to be making fun of himself. And then there's that freaking eyebrow." She softly growled as she thought about all of her failed attempts to get his unnatural eyebrow to work with the picture. Sanji's eye brow curled to his right and anytime she tried to make it look like he was in a good mood the curl made it look angry or confused. She hated that eyebrow more than ever at this moment.
A thought dawned on her. Luffy was too quiet. He was never this quiet for this long. If someone ranted or said something that clashed with his own thoughts or want's he'd interrupt speaking about his objection without hesitation. And if there was a long stretch of time void of sound he would make sure that it was filled. But right now it was silent for too long. She looked to where Luffy was and blanched. He was gone and that could only mean one thing. And sure enough when she stood at her full height of four feet and ten inches she could see over the three foot high wooden wall and there was Luffy Running towards Sanji with her picture.
She jumped over the side and grabbed onto the rope that was used to get to and from the crows nest. Quickly she climbed down and tried to catch Luffy. She knew that she wasn't going to make it but she had to try. Luffy was only several feet from Sanji and she was still a good ten to twenty feet from Luffy. Just as Luffy was about to call out to Sanji the paper in his out stretched hand was taken. A sigh of relief slipped from Avery's lips. Zoro had taken the picture from Luffy's grasp. Luffy fell face first onto the deck below his feet while Aver slowed her pace to a walk. "This yours?" Zoro asked. His green hair didn't move in the wind but her picture nearly slipped from his hand. She gave him a small smile. Smirking cockily he said, "Here." And all of the color drained from Avery's face.
"What's this?" Sanji questioned as he took the paper Zoro offered him. Avery refused to look at him and let her eyes roam the deck. Nami and Robin were laying on lawn chairs, the first reading a news paper and the other a book, both had drinks Sanji had just brought out in their hands. Usopp and Chopper were no where in sight. "Did you draw this?" Avery didn't answer his question. But it seemed her silence said it all. "May I keep it? It's quite good."
"It's not finished." Mumbled Avery. "But when I finish it you may if you still want it." She would never say no to him. He handed her the paper back and she looked up at him for the first time since he had gotten the paper. Looking up was being literal for her because he stood an inch under a foot taller than her at five feet nine inches and he was grinning widely as his cigarette hung loosely between his teeth on the left side. His eyes were closed and she looked intently at his eyebrow. The infuriating thing looked perfect on his face but on her paper it didn't work.
When Sanji opened his eyes he could she she was slightly putting, trying to hide her embarrassment. The pink tint on her pale complexion was not sunburn and he knew it. His hand landed on top of her head and he ruffled her hair. "Tell you what I'll go make you a drink and you can work on that picture in the kitchen as I cook. What do you think about that?" He noticed the pink on her cheeks turn to a deeper shade that was almost a red. Sanji walked away heading to the kitchen. Behind him he heard the soft foot steps of Avery and his grin widened. She had followed him. He didn't know it but she relished her time around him because he didn't flirted with her like he did with Nami or Robin, she didn't like feeling like just another possible short fling, and neither did he treat her like just one of the guys. He treated her with respect but only respect that she deserved. So of course she would follow. And while in that kitchen she would get his stupid eyebrow to work on paper.
She couldn't stand how it didn't fit. If she could get the eyebrow to work then the hair and eye would work and the pose would fit with his expression and the clothes wouldn't look too rigid or serious like. All because of the stupid eyebrow.
Sara Wulffen Creative writing Period 7